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The Pele Yoetz On Healing - Refuah
The Pele Yoetz is a sefer (book) on all sorts of
advice for life. It is written in Hebrew.
- Translated by Matitia Chetrit
Our sages of blessed memory said on the verse "And
heal he will be healed" - from here the Torah gave the
permission to doctors to heal.
And it is also said with respect to illnesses - that
they are bad and trustworthy - that they are "trustworthy"
as an emissary / delegate [of heaven] for at the time that
they are appointed / delegated [to fall upon a person] - it
is decreed upon them that they should only leave on a
determined day by the appointed doctor using the prescribed
medicine.
Our sages have also said "A person should not live in
a place where there is no doctor"
And thus we find that an [interesting] inquiry
arises. Since it is Hashem who determines death and life -
what what will the doctor add [by aiding to heal the
patient]? Is it not so that if it was decreed [in Heaven]
that one will die, even if all the doctors in the world
arose to heal him, they would not be able to save him from
death?
And thus [we can better understand] our sages
statement "the error / malpractice of the doctor is the
will of the Creator" and it is not in his power to save.
And if it was decreed upon the person that he should live,
even without a doctor, the Holy One Blessed Be He, will
turn over [worlds] and cure him. For Hashem has many ways
and with Him there is much deliverance and He will stretch
out his "hand" and heal him.
However, the answer to this inquiry and to many
others like it is that there are three different types of
decrees:
1) If he is one that holds a special merit and his
merit is strong and his fate is salutary - even if he
doesn't have a doctor and he does things that will worsen
his condition, he will not die and "live he will live".
2) And there are those, upon whom death is decreed -
that is to say, even if he guarded himself with all
protection in the world, his persistence of protecting
himself is all in vain, and doctors will be of no help and
he will not be saved.
3) However, there are those who, due to their sins,
place themselves under the influence of
"nature":
- if they protect themselves and act with the
proper cures according to nature - "live he will live" - he
will surely live.
- and if not they will die and on this type of
person it is said "and there is death without judgment."
Behold, thus each person needs to seek the proper
cure when he needs them. For if he will not do this and
will cause "death without judgment", he will be held
accountable for his life. And he is at fault [his death is
worthwhile] for he transgressed on that that is written [in
the Torah], "and you shall protect very well your life."
And the person who does not preserve his health, and
does not act in the according to nature, to seek the proper
medical treatment of his illness, to the best of his
ability - will surely be punished since he transgressed
that which is written in the Torah.
It also comes out that he depended on a miracle and
if a miracle was done for him, a part of his merits will be
taken away.
One needs to be very careful to guard one's health so
that he will not become ill. And if he did become sick, he
needs to seek cures and consult expert physicians. And he
should not be concerned about his money [he will spend for
the cure], for a person should give all his money to save
his life. As it says in the Zohar HaKadosh "that one who is
apt to suffer monetary loss, he will fall into house of
illness, and will not be cured until the amount that it was
decreed for him to lose, is spent." That is why it is good
advice to spend the money as quickly as possible.
And how good is it for a person to increase his
giving of charity - for he gains a mitzvah and it is a
segulah (an ability) to nullify the decree [of suffering].
Really, before a person should seek cures - he should
always believe with complete conviction - that his healing
is in the hands of the Holy One Blessed be He - the
Merciful and Trustworthy Physician - Healer of Israel, His
people. Thus, he should preface [his acts], with prayer
before Him.
(And I already composed a prayer for an ill person
and placed it in my place of prayer)
A person who has a sick person in his household, is
obligated not to slumber, and not to remain silent, and not
to rest until he seeks all types of doctors and all sorts
of remedies according to his means / until he achieves his
objective. And if he is a needy person, and he cannot
afford [proper diagnosis and treatment], the obligation
falls on the citizens of his city and/or on the Bikur Holim
Organization (lit - visitation of the ill society - ie, the
illness relief fund). - to assign for him doctors and cures
- and they should not be concerned about the the great
expenses, for they should consider how great is the
mitzvah. Go and learn till where the obligation to heal
applies, for behold they permitted our holy / strict
Shabbat to be desecrated and to transgress upon the entire
Torah in order to treat a person who was in mortal danger.
As our the Talmud says "It is better for one to
desecrate one Shabbat so that one may observe many other
Shabbats."
And how much more so that it is proper to spend all
the money in the world in order to save one Jewish soul -
for it is as if one saved the entire world. And even if
with all this effort the person still passed away, G-d
forbid, this should not serve to make them regret and balk
(at the money spent). Rather they should rejoice in their
hearts knowing they did did what was required of them to
do. To Hashem - they are doing the best that they can do -
and Hashem will pay them seven times over in their laps
with wealth and riches in their home.
---
from: The Jewish Education Network
at: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/2233
e-mail: jenet@iname.com
date: Heshvan 5759 / November 12, 1998
ver: 1.0
The Jewish Education Network - A Jewish Education Counts.
Matatia Chetrit, Copyright (1998)
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